It seems awfully curmudgeonly to start a column by complaining about people being too nice, but gosh darn it, I鈥檓 going to do it.
Don鈥檛 you just hate it when cars stop for pedestrians?
No? OK, well, let me explain myself.
Now that it鈥檚 summertime, foot traffic in Victoria is swelling to its annual maximum. There are pedestrians in the parks, pedestrians on the sidewalks and 鈥� occasionally 鈥� pedestrians wanting to cross the road.
And since we鈥檙e all sharing the same space, sometimes a driver who鈥檚 feeling generous 鈥� and who wouldn鈥檛 be, driving in the sunshine with the windows down and the radio on? 鈥� will stop to let a pedestrian cross, even when it鈥檚 not the pedestrian鈥檚 turn, or when it gets in the way of the flow of traffic.
Big deal. Who cares? It鈥檚 good to see people being nice for once.
But I鈥檝e become convinced that this is about the worst thing a driver can do to a pedestrian. Often when a car stops for someone, the pedestrian feels a sense of obligation to take advantage of the driver鈥檚 kindness. It鈥檚 not necessarily safe to cross, though. The driver isn鈥檛 thinking like a pedestrian: They鈥檙e thinking like a person in a car for whom it happens to be convenient to stop. But the pedestrian has a lot more worries than just your car, my friend.
First, traffic has stopped in only one lane, and pedestrians usually have to cross at least two. Crossing safely depends on the drivers in the other lane deciding that they, too, shall disobey the flow of traffic to let the pedestrian cross. This can take longer than the first driver is willing to wait. The first car can become a danger again, at any moment.
Second, the people behind the first car have no idea what鈥檚 going on. Not too long ago, my dad and I were driving around a corner and happened upon a stopped car. We slowed, then pulled out around it. It was only then that we noticed the woman crossing in front of the other car, but the other driver had no way to signal that to us.
There are also cyclists on the road who have every reason to believe that their lane will be uninterrupted by dashing pedestrians. Cars turning from nearby side streets are also dangerous.
Frankly, it鈥檚 bad news for everybody.
Speaking as a pedestrian, making assumptions about drivers鈥� behaviour is the most dangerous thing you can do. For this reason, it鈥檚 hugely frustrating when drivers stop in the middle of the road to let you pass simply to 鈥渂e nice.鈥� Please keep driving! I鈥檒l cross when I鈥檓 comfortable.
It also sets you up for the extremely dangerous Scenario B. This is when a car slows, and you, the pedestrian, assume it鈥檚 going to let you cross, when really the driver was checking addresses or something. Now you鈥檙e not only crossing against the light, but you鈥檙e in immediate danger from the car you previously thought was waiting for you.
Scenario C is just plain awkward. Last summer I was standing at an intersection, waiting for my light to turn, when a woman in a truck thought she鈥檇 be nice and stop to let me go. Except that my DON鈥橳 WALK sign was still flashing. So I stood there like a moron, waiting for her patience to run out, until she made an exasperated gesture, yelled something at me (probably 鈥渕oron鈥�) and drove off. I crossed when the light changed, but neither of us was made happier by the experience.
Seriously, I appreciate the gesture, but I, as a pedestrian, have a much better understanding of when it鈥檚 safe for me to cross than you do, person-in-car. Ultimately, only the person crossing can be the judge of their personal safety, and you鈥檙e getting in the way of that evaluation as you try to happily wave them across.
Obviously, this isn鈥檛 a call for increased selfishness on the road. Rather, it鈥檚 a reminder that disobeying the established expectations of driving, even if you鈥檙e doing it the name of kindness, can be dangerous to the person you think you鈥檙e trying to help.
In a misunderstanding between a pedestrian and a car, the pedestrian is always going to lose. So let鈥檚 make it safer for everyone, by keeping those misunderstandings to a minimum, and driving (and crossing) as we ought.
